Caracortado Back to Work, Aiming For Malibu

Caracortado, the California-bred gelding who won the first five races of his career including the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. II) in February, breezed three furlongs Sept. 21 at Hollywood Park in his first work since finishing seventh in the Preakness (gr. I).

Bred and trained by Mike Machowsky, Caracortado was timed in :38 2/5 in his first action in four months. Machowsky said it was nice to have his stable star back and the main goal for the remainder of the year is the grade I Malibu Stakes, which is in late December at Santa Anita.

“He went great. We’re just easing him back into it. Everything went well,” Machowsky said.

“We just gave him some time off to develop. He had a breeze after the Preakness and the regular rider said he just felt a little flat and body sore. We wanted to get him right again. He just needed a little freshening.”

Machowsky said he would like to get Caracortado an allowance race at Hollywood as a prep for the Malibu but does not have a definitive date in mind at this point. He will likely breeze his charge again on Sept. 26.

“We’ll find the right spot for him,” Machowsky said. “It doesn’t look like he lost too much.”

Owned by Blahut Racing and Lo Hi Racing, Caracortado is 5-0-1 from eight starts with earnings of $262,200. In addition to winning the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes and Robert Lewis, he was third in the San Felipe (gr. II) and fourth in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).